Is gold now a bad investment?

Some economists are debating the point after years of steady growth in its price. As the AP reported,

“When the price of gold plunged $200 last month, many people thought they caught the sound of the gold bubble popping. What Peter Schiff, CEO of the brokerage Euro Pacific Precious Metals, believes he heard was a stampede of fair-weather speculators fleeing the precious metal. … After starting April above $1,600 an ounce, it dropped below $1,361 on April 15 and has steadily recovered to settle at $1,436 on Friday.

” … But now it looks like the fast-money has soured on the yellow metal. George Soros slashed his stake in the SPDR Gold Trust fund by 55 percent at the end of last year, according to the most recent regulatory filing. Judging by the numbers, it looks like others decided to jump out of the market at the same time. Hedge funds and big investors pulled $8.7 billion out of gold funds last month, according to EPFR Global, a firm that tracks where big investors put their money.”